Electronic personal vaporizer

Abstract

An electronic personal vaporizer is provided, having components including a heating element; a liquid container; a power source to provide power to the heating element; a first bulkhead defining an airway at a first end of the vaporizer;a second bulkhead separating the power source from the heating element and liquid container; and a shell containing the heating element, liquid container and power source. The shell is made of flexible printed circuit and is rolled or folded around the other components to allow for electronic communications to pass along the vaporizer without piercing the bulkheads.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention relates to personal vapour inhaling units and more particularly to electronic personal vaporizers that simulate a cigarette or cigar.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]An electronic personal vaporizer is an alternative to smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes Inhaled doses of vaporized flavour provide a physical sensation similar to smoking. However, because an electronic personal vaporizer typically uses electrical power to atomize a substance, no tobacco, smoke, or combustion is usually involved in its operation. A personal vaporizer may be battery powered for portability and to simulate the physical characteristics of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. In addition, a personal vaporizer may be loaded with nicotine bearing substance and / or a medication bearing substance. The electronic personal vaporizer may provide an inhaled dose of nicotine and / or medication by way of the atomized and vaporized substance. Thus, personal vaporiz...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Furthermore the FPCB can also be shaped by plastic deformation thus reducing and possibly eliminating the need for shape stabilization. Plastic deformation of the FPCB can be achieved by exceeding the yield strength of the substrate during deformation. Additionally, the FPCB substrate can be thermally moulded to achieve deformation. Plastic deformation techniques of the FPCB may still require shape stabilization depending on desired characteristics of shape and rigidity of the final deformed shape sought.

[0012]Typically the FPCB in its natural form would have a generally flat shape presenting itself more akin to the typical rigid printed circuit board. The components are typically interconnected to the FPCB while in the generally flat shape however deforming particular areas of the naturally shaped FPCB prior to interconnecting may have advantages. Bonding components by way of soldering to the FPCB while it is generally flat will cause the affected areas to remain in its natural shape while deformation of the rest of the FPCB occurs. To overcome this potentially undesirable effect, it would be beneficial to deform the areas where the soldering will be prior to soldering, while leaving a sufficient amount of the FPCB in its natural shape to allow easy access for interconnecting. Once the area is deformed closely to its desired final shape, the components can be soldered to the FPCB thus assuring the shape of the solder bonded area will match to the final overall deformed shape of the FPCB.

[0015]Components can be affixed to either side of the FPCB thus allowing switches and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to be soldered to the outside of a formed shell shape as easily as they can be affixed to the inside. Components on the inside of a FPCB shell would generally be affixed before final formation of the FPCB shell. Independently, components on the exterior of a FPCB shell could be affixed prior or after the final formation of the FPCB shell of the present invention.

[0016]The switch is a common component of an electronic personal vaporizer. The switch can be used to control the power supplying the atomizer or the switch can signal a controller circuit. There are many types of switches that can be used with the present invention. The membrane switch is a type of switch constructed from FPCB and is both compact and low profile. The membrane switch can be easily integrated into the FPCB shell of an electronic personal vaporizer at marginal cost. There is a minimum amount of FPCB material required to form a shell of a specific shape and size. However, additional material can be allotted in the FPCB which would provide overlap when forming the shell. This overlap could be used for shape stabilization as well as providing the dome element required for a membrane switch.

[0018]Alternatively the FPCB shell shape can be wrapped with a sticker, label, decal, or tape that has graphics and artwork displayed. This method provides visual elements to the shell as well as provides stabilization to the shell shape.

Problems solved by technology

The assembly procedure of the electronic personal vaporizers generally requires delicate human labour since the shell is relatively small in size and the components must be placed inside the shell tube by way of the small open ends.

Forces manually applied to the internal assembly during insertion to overcome the required friction fits can cause damage to the delicate components and their soldered connections.

Additionally, some loose fitting internal components, such as the battery, can also cause damage during shipping and handling of the finished product.

It is very undesirable to have a damaged battery leak some of its harmful substances into the atomizer area.

Although materials exist that can seal well to the shell surface, an inherent problem still exists for this bulkhead.

Therefore by nature of current designs, the bulkhead must be breached with apertures for the wires to pass through thus exposing the electronic personal vaporizer to an elevated risk associated with bulkhead leaks.

These current designs create complexity, are costly, and deter current designs from utilizing more wires to pass through the bulkhead for additional functionality.

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